Hope, Ethnic Pride, and Academic Achievement: Positive Psychology and Latino Youth

Previous studies have found that hope has beneficial effects in athletics, academics, physical health, and mental well being in majority populations. Given the challenges Latino youth face in the United States, ethnic identity and hope may be a powerful buffer from these negative stressors. The current study aimed to identify whether chronic levels of hope related to academic performance, whether an ethnic pride manipulation altered state hope levels, and whether there was a link between ethnic identity and chronic hope among a sample of Latino youth. Results indicated that GPA and chronic hope levels were not related, a manipulation to boost ethic pride increased state hope, and that ethnic identity was related to chronic levels of hope. The findings suggest that ethnic identity is an important contributor to hope levels

Preliminary test results of the joint FAA-USAF-NASA runway research program. Part 1: Traction measurements of several runways under wet and dry conditions with a Boeing 727, a diagonal-braked vehicle, and a mu-meter

The stopping distance, brake application velocity, and time of brake application were measured for two modern jet transports, along with the NASA diagonal-braked vehicle and the British Mu-Meter on several runways, which when wetted, cover the range of slipperiness likely to be encountered in the United States. Tests were designed to determine if correlation between the aircraft and friction measuring vehicles exists. The test procedure, data reduction techniques, and preliminary test results obtained with the Boeing 727, the Douglas DC-9, and the ground vehicles are given. Time histories of the aircraft test run parameters are included

Elastic precursor of the transformation from glycolipid-nanotube to -vesicle

By the combination of optical tweezer manipulation and digital video microscopy, the flexural rigidity of single glycolipid "nano" tubes has been measured below the transition temperature at which the lipid tubules are transformed into vesicles. Consequently, we have found a clear reduction of the rigidity obviously before the transition as temperature increasing. Further experiments of infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) have suggested a microscopic change of the tube walls, synchronizing with the precursory softening of the nanotubes.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Child Well-Being in Rich Countries: UNICEF’s Ranking Revisited, and New Symmetric Aggregating Operators Exemplified

In a report published in 2007 UNICEF measured six dimensions of child well-being for the majority of the economically advanced nations. No overall scores are given, but countries are listed in the order of their average rank on the dimensions, which are therefore implicitly assigned ‘equal importance’. In this study we take ‘equal importance’ to mean that the final aggregation is symmetrical in the scores and the ranks, i.e. permuting them leaves the aggregate unchanged. We rank the countries by aggregating the numerical information using a variety of techniques, geared to the measurement scales we distinguish (‘ordinal’, ‘interval’, ‘ratio’). The aggregators are symmetrical and mildly demanding, emphasizing good performance across the board. The rankings obtained deviate from the UNICEF ranking, but not over-dramatically. Our purpose is not only to study alternative approaches for the particular data at hand, but also to introduce and exemplify new and useful aggregation techniques: we propose ways to select weights for OWA-operators and weighted geometric means, and we suggest how to circumvent the choice of a power for the power means. In addition we extend the Borda method so that it values dominance as well

Testing the diffusion hypothesis as a mechanism of self-healing in Disperse orange 11 doped in PMMA

In this work, we show that reversible photodegradation of Disperse Orange 11 doped in PMMA is not due to dye diffusion - a common phenomenon observed in many dye-doped polymers. The change in linear absorbance due to photodegradation of the material shows an isobestic point, which is consistent with the formation of a quasi-stable damaged species. Spatially-resolved amplified spontaneous emission and fluorescence, both related to the population density, are measured by scanning the pump beam over a burn mark. A numerical model of the time evolution of the population density due to diffusion is inconsistent with the experimental data suggesting that diffusion is not responsible.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

Peroxidase-dependent metabolism of benzene's phenolic metabolites and its potential role in benzene toxicity and carcinogenicity.

The metabolism of two of benzene's phenolic metabolites, phenol and hydroquinone, by peroxidase enzymes has been studied in detail. Studies employing horseradish peroxidase and human myeloperoxidase have shown that in the presence of hydrogen peroxide phenol is converted to 4,4'-diphenoquinone and other covalent binding metabolites, whereas hydroquinone is converted solely to 1,4-benzoquinone. Surprisingly, phenol stimulates the latter conversion rather than inhibiting it, an effect that may play a role in the in vivo myelotoxicity of benzene. Indeed, repeated coadministration of phenol and hydroquinone to B6C3F1 mice results in a dramatic and significant decrease in bone marrow cellularity similar to that observed following benzene exposure. A mechanism of benzene-induced myelotoxicity is therefore proposed in which the accumulation and interaction of phenol and hydroquinone in the bone marrow and the peroxidase-dependent formation of 1,4-benzoquinone are important components. This mechanism may also be responsible, at least in part, for benzene's genotoxic effects, as 1,4-benzoquinone has been shown to damage DNA and is shown here to induce multiple micronuclei in human lymphocytes. Secondary activation of benzene's phenol metabolites in the bone marrow may therefore play an important role in benzene's myelotoxic and carcinogenic effects

Exploring the parameter space of MagLIF implosions using similarity scaling. I. Theoretical framework

Magneto-inertial fusion (MIF) concepts, such as the Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) platform [M. R. Gomez et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 155003 (2014)], constitute a promising path for achieving ignition and significant fusion yields in the laboratory. The space of experimental input parameters defining a MagLIF load is highly multi-dimensional, and the implosion itself is a complex event involving many physical processes. In the first paper of this series, we develop a simplified analytical model that identifies the main physical processes at play during a MagLIF implosion. Using non-dimensional analysis, we determine the most important dimensionless parameters characterizing MagLIF implosions and provide estimates of such parameters using typical fielded or experimentally observed quantities for MagLIF. We then show that MagLIF loads can be "incompletely" similarity scaled, meaning that the experimental input parameters of MagLIF can be varied such that many (but not all) of the dimensionless quantities are conserved. Based on similarity-scaling arguments, we can explore the parameter space of MagLIF loads and estimate the performance of the scaled loads. In the follow-up papers of this series, we test the similar scaling theory for MagLIF loads against simulations for two different scaling "vectors", which include current scaling and rise-time scaling.Comment: 24 pages, submitted to Physics of Plasma

Aerodynamic-structural analysis of dual bladed helicopter systems

The aerodynamic and structural feasibility of the birotor blade concept is assessed. The inviscid flow field about the dual bladed rotor was investigated to determine the aerodynamic characteristics for various dual rotor blade placement combinations with respect to blade stagger, gap, and angle of attack between the two blades. The boundary layer separation on the rotors was studied and three dimensional induced drag calculations for the dual rotor system are presented. The thrust and power requirements of the rotor system were predicted. NASTRAN, employed as the primary modeling tool, was used to obtain a model for predicting in plane bending, out of plane bending, and the torsional behavior of the birotors. Local hub loads, blade loads, and the natural frequencies for the birotor configuration are discussed